The World’s First Motel Welcomed Weary Travellers 100 Years Ago
Photo Matthew Smith / Unsplash
America’s early automobilists driving across the country would have to camp by the roadside until the Milestone Motel opened in December 1925.
Before architect brothers Alfred and Arthur Heineman came to the rescue, drivers could stop at autocamps which provided basic amenities, but no actual accommodation. Travellers would need to pack a tent and pitch up for an overnight rest.
The Milestone offered unprecedented luxury for motorists, with private garages and hot showers provided, while the setting among the orange groves of San Luis Obispo was a picturesque spot to break the long journey between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The word ‘Motel’ is said to have been the invention of the sign maker charged with drawing attention to the Heineman’s venture. He claimed that the full ‘Motor Hotel’ wouldn’t fit, so abbreviated it to ‘Mo-Tel’. It became part of the lexicon when Webster’s added it to the dictionary in 1945.
Soon others would follow the Heineman’s idea and motels began to spring up across America. Chains such as Holiday Inn, Howard Johnson’s, Super 8 and Motel 6 thrived in the post-war years. According to The Smithsonian Magazine there were some 61,000 Motels in the USA by 1964.
That number plummeted to just 16,000 in 2012, but visiting a motel remains a must on any Great American Road Trip.
America’s early automobilists driving across the country would have to camp by the roadside until the Milestone Motel opened in December 1925.